Once again, it seems we are presented with a lesson that is suited for some other time. Here we are in Advent, preparing for the "coming to us" of the King, as the word advent means. What we get is a filthy man dressed in dingy clothing telling us to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

And what a man he is! Besides living in the wilderness and wearing camel hair for clothes, he doesn't enjoy any of the other finer amenities of life. For a belt, he wears a makeshift band of animal hide—leather of some sort. For food, he eats locusts—LOCUSTS! Okay, so he enjoys a little wild honey every now and then—but HE...EATS...LOCUSTS! But wait! There was a time before when someone lived a similar, ascetic lifestyle. It was Elijah, the prophet. He had a similar message, for he told king Ahaziah to repent, by which he responded twice by sending soldier to apprehend Elijah; both times, Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume the soldiers—he was serious in his message to repent.

Could John be a prophet too? Besides living like Elijah, he talks a little bit like him, too. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Some people are taking him seriously, for they journey to meet him and be baptized by him; his word is getting out. But is he being serious? We'll get to that in a moment.

What about today? Here we are, set on preparing for Christmas. This is a happy time of year that we all look forward to when we can gather with friends and family, enjoy a richer fare of foods, exchange gifts and increase our collection of stuff, and stop the normal routine of life to enjoy something that seems an awful lot like peace. Every once in a while the vision of bills following our holiday spending dance in our heads, but for the most part this is a joyous time of year. For the most part, our hearts and minds are set on parties and the good times that we can have. But here and now we hear these words of John the Baptist? Is this serious? Again, we'll get to that in a moment.

For a Christian, Advent should be all about preparing. As mentioned, here we are, set on preparing for Christmas. For a Christian, that involves preparing for the celebration of the birth of Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. The King of kings is about to have a birthday, at least according to our calendars. The anniversary of the day when God took on our human form to live among us and redeem us is fast approaching. Preparing for Christmas should be especially joyous for a Christian, who should certainly be able to look beyond all of the commercialism and red and green decorations to a small boy-child wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a trough. But Advent, this time of preparation, should also be a serious time for a Christian, because his King coming to earth is a serious thing; He comes to redeem mankind, not to enjoy the rich fare of foods, an exchange of gifts, or parties all the time. So, today, in preparation, we hear the words of the King's cousin, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

So, what is involved in preparing for a coming king? Again, we look to what John the Baptist says: "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." Nothing should crowd the path of the king. Nothing should be an obstacle for the king. He should be able to walk the path without looking at it; holding his head high as nobility, guided by his pages and attendants, or carried in his sedan.

It is much like how we would prepare for a visit by a modern dignitary. If the governor were to visit our fair town, his ways here would be made straight. If the president were to visit Sioux Falls, his ways there would be made straight. There would be no garbage on the streets he would travel (not that there is much or any to speak of normally, anyway). Potholes would be filled in and pesky bumps would be leveled; it would be the quickest construction project either place has ever seen. Crowds would be kept back—we wouldn't want anyone who intends harm to the dignitary to close to him, though these days, dignitaries like to be in touch with the people and wish to shake hands with them, so the crowds may be closer than the secret service or body guards would like. The times may have changed much, but the customs for preparing for nobility or those in high regard have changed little.

But John the Baptist is not calling for straight paths in the desert for any normal king. Christians, in preparing for Christmas, are not preparing for the birth of any ordinary child. Paths are prepared for the King of kings and Lord of lords...God incarnate. How does one prepare for this? By making straight paths, of course.

Once again, John and Elijah are saying something similar. As Elijah called down fire to consume the soldiers, John is calling down the mountains to fill in the valleys. Just as we sang in our opening hymn this morning: "Let the valleys rise to meet Him, and the hills bow down to greet Him."

Now, we can say something more about making paths straight. Certainly, the paths for the king—and the King of kings—should be straight. But our hearts and minds should also be on the straight and narrow paths. That is how we, as Christians, prepare for the coming of the King of kings. Ideally, that straight and narrow path would be the way of no sin; this side of eternity, we cannot even hope to walk that path. Yet, we can make straight paths—and this only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your God is coming to you in human form—in flesh and blood—He is holy and has salvation, repent! Making a straight path is repentance—and repentance is accomplished only by the power of the Holy Spirit! And repentance is the message of John the Baptist (as it was of Elijah, too): "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

And yes, His message is serious. A holy God is coming, before whom anything unholy is destroyed. Would it not be wise to repent? So, John issues a warning: "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." There is no margin of error, there is no wiggle room. Either you do what is right, or you will be destroyed. Either produce good fruit, or be cut down and cast into the fire. There is no room for you to justify yourself, to try to explain your sin. There is no gray area. God is coming, and He is bringing His justice and wrathful fire!

And yes, His message is serious for today, as well. The call to repentance is still issued. The ax is still at the ready, waiting to cut down that which does not produce good fruit. It is time to prepare for the coming of God, it is imminent. The ax may swing at any moment. Make your paths straight, "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!"

Dear Baptized into Christ, fear not, however! Yes, "the ax is already at the root," but there is another root. Another prophet has proclaimed sweet, good news to counter this Law from God: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Isaiah proclaims that there is a stump, one stump—roots that will bear good fruit. From the stump of Jesse—from the line of David—will come the Holy One of Israel, the Branch will bear good fruit.

Today, I proclaim to you, dear Baptized, that this Branch has come, and has bore all good fruit. He has stood upon God's Law—perfectly, blameless, upright...holy! He took those good fruit to a tree, upon which He was nailed, from which He graciously gives those good fruit, and to which He has taken our unholiness, and destroyed it! No longer do we need to fear death—to fear being chopped down and thrown into the fire—for the tree upon which He gave His life has become for us the Tree of Life!

This Branch has grown into the True Vine. Through Baptism, we have been grafted to Him. And, grafted to Him, we are planted by streams of living water, so that through Him we can produce those good fruit—through Him and by Him we are able to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. By Him and through Him, and only by and through Him, are we made holy.

And the gift He brings for those who bear the good fruit is forgiveness. His free gift to us who have been Baptized into Christ and grafted to the Vine is forgiveness of sins. He produces the good fruit of repentance in us and matches it with His most holy absolution.

So, instead of preparing ourselves for the coming of the King of kings, we are prepared. While we could never hope to prepare ourselves, by God's gracious actions on and in us, we are prepared to meet and greet the coming of our Savior. By His gracious action, we can look forward to Christmas as a time to celebrate the birth of the Savior and a time to rejoice that our salvation has come down to earth. By His gracious action, we can look forward to that unknown day, when the kingdom of God will once again descend on the earth, and fulfill the prophecy spoken through John: "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." We can look forward to that day, because, as Baptized into Christ and by His grace remaining faithful, we are His wheat!

So, you see, to be prepared to celebrate Christ's birth is to be prepared for His second coming. During Advent, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas—the first coming to earth of Christ—we as Christians have been prepared and eagerly expect and wait for the return of Christ—His second coming! Forgiven of all our sins, grafted to the vine, we look with anticipation to that day when we will be gathered in His barn, joining Him in His Heaven. Because, as Isaiah said, "In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious." So, with joy we pray, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen."